How specify the required Java version in a Gradle build

Question

I would like to set in a Gradle build file the required Java version e.g. 7 or 8 without having to specify the actual path to a local JDK installation.

Is

Answer 1

This feature was just added to Gradle 6.7 as Java toolchains:

// build.gradle.kts

plugins {
    id("java-library") // or id("application")
}

java {
    toolchain {
        languageVersion.set(JavaLanguageVersion.of(11))
    }
}

With this in place Gradle will automatically download & use the appropriate JDK (using AdoptOpenJDK by default) for the specified Java version.